Thursday, March 17, 2011

Right, lads, where shall we start? The mischievous macaques descend upon a Mercedes car placed there by staff at Longleat Safari Park

The sight of a team of vandals stripping a car and running off with its parts would normally spark fury - but these scenes of Longleat Safari Park were being actively encouraged today.

The 100 rhesus monkeys were treated to a tattered old Mercedes by staff following a two-year hiatus in which no cars were allowed into their enclosure.

Following redevelopment of the park in Wiltshire, staff decided to give the monkeys their own battered old vehicle to let them take out their frustrations before daring to allow paying visitors to risk driving through it.

This might work as my bedl: A monkey rifles through a suitcase strapped to the roof of the car

If it's not nailed down... A hub cap is torn off almost immediately

Within minutes the gang was bouncing on the bonnet and bending the aerial - while some members concentrated on raiding the roof rack of luggage and draping themselves in clothes and blankets.

One enterprising fellow was even seen sprinting off with a hubcab while another made a determined effort to remove a wing mirror.

The scamps even made an attempt to wrench the iconic Mercedes badge off the car's bonnet.